Theresa May has denied her Brexit withdrawal deal is ignorning the will of the Scottish people and has declared that Scotland will leave the EU as part of a United Kingdom.
The Prime Minister was speaking as part of a Q&A on the BBC where she also announced her plans to embark on a grand tour of the UK to sell her Brexit plan.
One caller asked her why she was ignoring the view of Scotland given it voted in large part to stay in the EU, to which the PM replied that different parts of the country voted in different ways. “But we joined the EU as the United Kingdom and we will leave the EU as the United Kingdom. That’s why it was right to take the view that came across the whole of the country and that overall view was to leave the EU.”
As the Prime Minister prepares to travel to Brussels tomorrow for more talks with Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission President, ahead of Sunday’s expected sign-off of the proposed Brexit deal, she made clear that she would be travelling “up and down the country” to convince voters of the merits of her Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration on Britain’s future relationship with the EU.
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Appearing simultaneously on the BBC News Channel and Radio 5 Live, Mrs May insisted the proposed agreement with the EU27 was a “really good deal for the UK,” explaining: “It delivers what the people voted for: it brings an end to free movement, sending vast annual sums of money to the EU and the European Court having jurisdiction here in the UK. It delivers what people voted for and protects jobs; that’s what people are looking for from the Government.”
The PM said now was the time for the country to “come together” behind her Brexit plan and that her job was to persuade MPs that it was the right one before they had their meaningful vote, which is expected to take place around December 10 ahead of the next European Council on December 13.
Noting how her proposed deal would help protect people’s jobs and livelihoods, she said how “my job is to persuade people”.
Mrs May explained: “When I say I’m going to be focused over the next few weeks until the meaningful vote in Parliament at getting that vote through, I’m going to be doing other things too; I’m going to be around the country, explaining the deal to people up and down the country because this is important.
“This is not just about MPs at Westminster looking at the deal, it’s about the people across the country, understanding what the deal is about; so that’s my focus.”
Given that nearly 90 Tory MPs have publicly said they could not vote for the PM’s current Brexit plan, Mrs May was asked repeatedly what her Plan B was if Parliament voted it down but failed to give a direct answer, stressing: “The focus is getting the deal through.”
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Asked repeatedly if she would resign if she failed to get her deal through Parliament, Mrs May replied: “No. I'm focusing on ensuring that we get this deal through Parliament. This is absolutely the right deal for the UK…This is not about me…I’m not thinking about me, I’m thinking about getting a deal through that delivers for the people of this country. That’s what drives me and is at the forefront of my mind.”
Quizzed about whether or not her proposed deal would be better than the UK’s current membership of the EU, the PM talked around the question until she said: “We will be better off in a situation outside the EU where we have control of all of those things and are able to trade around the rest of the world.”
Pressed again, Mrs May explained: “It’s a different sort of environment and a different approach to things. What will make us better off is not so much about whether we are in the EU or not but about what we can do for our economy and prosperity…Our future is our own hands, that’s what’s important.”
What was the PM asked in the Q&A
Q: What was her Plan B? “If this deal doesn’t get through, we end up back at Square One?
A: We end up with more uncertainty and division. If we were to go back to the EU and say: ‘People didn’t like that deal, can we have another one,’ I don’t think they’re going to come to us and give us a better deal. This is the deal that works for the UK. The focus is getting the deal through.”
Q: Does no-deal mean no Brexit?
A: “There is no question of no Brexit because the Government needs to deliver on what people voted for in the referendum in 2016.”
Q: Would the PM resign if she failed to get her deal through Parliament?
“No. I'm focusing on ensuring that we get this deal through Parliament. This is absolutely the right deal for the UK. This is not about me/ I’m not thinking about me, I’m thinking about getting a deal through that delivers for the people of this country. That’s what drives me and is at the forefront of my mind.”
Q: Why was Mrs May ignoring the will of Scotland, that voted to Remain?
A: “We joined the EU as the United Kingdom and we will leave the EU as the United Kingdom.”
Q: Would Britain be better off with her deal or its current membership of the EU?
A: “We will be better off in a situation outside the EU where we have control of all of those things and are able to trade around the rest of the world.”
Q: Why she was now presenting no Brexit as one possible outcome, if her deal is rejected?
A: “It's not one of my options, it's one of the things I'm trying to point out to people. There are MPs in the Commons who want to frustrate Brexit and want to stop Brexit. I just think it's important that people know that.”
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